With each new Star Trek series comes a new starship for fans to admire—and debate against the original Enterprise. Recent shows like Discovery, Protostar, and the Cerritos have all gained a following. Now, a new vessel has arrived, pushing the boundaries of what a Starfleet ship can be and ushering in a new, more thoughtful direction for the franchise.
The USS Athena is a unique Starfleet ship – it can actually transform! Captained by Holly Hunter’s Captain Nahla Ake, it serves two purposes: it’s both a fully functional Starfleet vessel and the campus of Starfleet Academy. The ship physically breaks apart to become the Academy in San Francisco, but can also operate as a regular ship – an Academy-class one – providing students with hands-on training during actual missions. Interestingly, the Athena isn’t named after an explorer like many Starfleet ships; instead, it’s named after the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare. This highlights a shift from Gene Roddenberry’s original vision, suggesting Starfleet Academy is finally acknowledging the military side of Starfleet.
Roddenberry Insisted Starfleet Was Not The Military (But The Athena Breaks That Rule)
Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, strongly insisted that Starfleet wasn’t a military force. He even objected to The Wrath of Khan portraying it as a navy. Roddenberry believed Starfleet’s main goals were scientific discovery, peaceful negotiations, and advancement. Captain Picard echoed this sentiment in Star Trek: The Next Generation, stating in the episode “Peak Performance” that Starfleet’s purpose is “exploration,” not military strategy.
It’s true that Starfleet isn’t strictly a military organization, but claiming it isn’t ignores a lot of evidence to the contrary. They use military ranks, ship names mirroring those of warships, and carry weapons – Captain Kirk even refers to himself as a soldier in the original series. While you could technically argue that their training and weaponry are purely for defense, in case of attack, rather than preparing for war, it’s a long-standing debate. The recent addition of a War College at Starfleet Academy suggests they’re at least acknowledging a distinction between defense and outright military action.
The ship’s name, Athena – taken from the Greek goddess – is meaningful because it suggests that both intelligence and military strength are core to Starfleet’s identity. Whether Gene Roddenberry intended a perfect, peaceful future where defense was occasionally needed, and war largely left behind, isn’t the main point. The fact is, war occurred, and Starfleet participated in it.
This ship is ideal for the current era of Star Trek. The Athena represents a completely rebuilt Starfleet, and it’s fitting that it acknowledges both exploration and defense – even if it means stepping away from the original idea that Starfleet shouldn’t be considered a military force. We’re in a new time, shaped by conflict and hardship, and this is a Starfleet that reflects that. While strategy and military readiness have always been important to Starfleet, now is the perfect time to demonstrate that more openly.
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2026-01-18 01:10